Thousands of Canberrans are expected to converge on the ACT's heritage railway museum from this Friday for one of the most ambitious Easter Steam Extravaganza programs in years.
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Volunteers are pulling together to make the event a hit in the wake of an overhaul of the ACT Division of the Australian Railway Historical Society's management structures and the creation of an interim council, secretary, Richard Robinson, said.
The council is working to put the organisation, which has an annual turnover of about $2.5 million a year, on a sound commercial footing after member concerns the body may have lost its way late last year.
Consideration is being given to selling some assets, including parts and little-used and unrestored rolling stock, to fund restoration and conservation work on more frequently used carriages and equipment.
The Easter event, which drew more than 2500 people in 2015, is to include steam train rides to Bungendore, static displays at the Kingston museum and Devonshire teas served in a historic dining car.
Heritage operations manager, Les Coulton, said the division had run several successful events, including its annual Australia Day program, and participated in the Thirlmere Festival of Steam, since the reform process began in January.
Former secretary, Garry Reynolds, said the society was "reinvigorated" with members enthusiastic about the future.
David Sommerville, the new president, said the changes arose from a loss of confidence in the previous management direction.
"Over the last half of 2015 it became apparent there were a large number of members who were not confident the society was being led objectively," he told members in a recent newsletter. "An interim council was created on January 19, and immediately commenced working on a number of key areas."
Objectives included developing better ways to track income and expenditure, the implementation of an "open and transparent decision making process" and the creation of a new constitution that would meet the needs of an organisation turning over millions of dollars a year and with substantial assets and major commercial contracts.
Mr Sommerville said the next six months would be critical.
"We are having to micromanage the society's finances and there will be difficult decisions to make," he said.
Major works have already been undertaken on the "City of Canberra", the division's mammoth Beyer-Garratt 6029, and its 30-class locomotive, 3016.
Mr Coulton said events such as the Steam Extravaganza and participation in the Hunter Valley Steamfest from April 8 to April 11 were major undertakings.
He likened taking the two steam locomotives, two diesel locomotives and six carriages (including the former Southern Aurora dining car) from Canberra to Maitland in April, to competing in an endurance race such as Bathurst or Le Mans.
"We'll be travelling 1893 kilometres [with the two engines] over the whole of the weekend," he said.
"It is the 30th anniversary [of the Maitland based Steamfest] and our participation is one of the biggest things Canberra has done in almost a decade."
Challenges include liaising with track owners to negotiate scheduling and making sure the 60 tonnes of coal and almost 500,000 litres of water needed by the steam locos were at the right places at the right times.
"We also have to do a full oil and grease [service] on the steam locomotives," Mr Coulton said. "In the old days you could swap the engines out [with fresh ones] but we don't have that luxury."
With at least 35 volunteers needed to make the Steamfest trip come off, the event is a social highlight as well as a technical one.
"People see it as an opportunity to step outside their comfort zone," he said. "It is nearly five days of full-on steam action."
